Apparatus and process for the continuous distillation of liquids



F. GIBSON.

APPA-RATUS AND PROCESS FOR THE CONTINUOUS DISTILLATION 0F LIQUIDS-'-APPLICATION FILED JULY 301 i918.

1,340,653. Patented May 18,1920.

By Aiia r ney I. Ina- 5? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREEMAN IFGIBSON, 0F SAVANNAH, GEORGIA.

APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR THE CONTINUOUS DISTILLATION OF LIQUIDS.

erence being had to the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is aside elevation and Fig. 2 an endelevation ofa type of still for thecarrying out of my process.

he object of my invention is to provide a process for the distillationof liquids which may be operated continuously and which will yielduniform distillate and uniform.

residues. I have found the process very useful in distilling fattyacids, such as oleic acid, stearic acid and palmitic acid from crudemixtures containing them. It is obvious, however, that the process mayalso be used with advantage in the distillation of other liquids andthat it is especially useful whenever a uniform distillate of mixedconstituents and a uniform residue I aredesired. y

In the processes heretofore commonly used for the distillation of fattyacids the crude mixture is fed into a still and heated, usually both bythe direct heat of a furnace or flame beneath the still and by blowingsteam, often superheated, into the crude mixture through perforatedsteam pipes or spray coils arranged in the still beneath the surface ofthe crude-oil. "The distillation is usually. conducted under more orless of a vacuum so as to lower the boilin pointsof the fatty acids andcause the distlllationiofthe fatty acids to proceed at atemperaturebelow that at which they arepa'pt to be decomposed by heat.Thedistillate is usually obtained in the form of a mixture" of severalfatty acids such as oleic aci ea acid and'isfuS'ed tensivelyfor themanufacture of soap and similar purposesfor which a mixture of the acidsof uniform valve 6 to maintain a constant level of liquid inotherindustries which' require a was of: uniform consistency."

It is important, therefore, that both the riciacid and palmitic;

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented May 18 1920. Application filed July so,

1918. Serial No. 247,449.

distillate and the residue of the process be of uniform composition. Yetas the process has been heretofore conducted the composition of both thedistillate andthe residue ister part of the time the heavier fatty acidspreponderate in the liquid. in the still and will therefore be foundto'preponderate' in the distillate. After a time the amount of tar inthe residue in the still preponderates to such an extent that theprocess must be stopped and the still cleaned out. The composition ofthe residue when the process is stopped and the still cleaned out ismore or less a matter of chance. It usually contains a substantial'portion of fatty acid which the final stage of theprocess ofdistillation did not remove effectively owing to the fact that the largeamount of-tar present interfered with the complete distillation of thefatty acids. I According to my process, all the foregoing diflicultiesare overcome by feeding the crude mixture continuously into a still ofthe general type illustrated in Fig. 1. Referring to Fig. 1, 1represents the still which maybe of any suitable shape, for example,rectan gular with a curved bottom and top as with several partitions 2dividing it into chambers such as A, B, C and. D. These chamberscommunicate with openings 3, near the bottom of the still. Thepartitions 2 terminate below the top of the still so that the chambersA, B, C and D all communicate in the upper part of thestill abovethepartitions. A'common outlet 4 is provided for the removal of thedistilled vapors which are led to a condensing apparatus of the. propertype, not shown. The crude oil is fed into the chamber 'A through'thepipe 5 leading from a suitable reservoir which is automaticallycontrolled by a suitable float the chamber B, thence to the chamber Cand thence to the chamber D. The bottom of the still is heated b asuitable source, for example, the gas urner 7, and may also be providedWith perforated steam spray coils 11. The withdrawal of the tar may be001K H trolled by valves 12 on the pipe 10. sampler 13 ,isadvantageously provided. The heat wl ich is applied to the still both bythe burner 7 and by the steam coils 8 may be uniform in the severalchambers or it may increase pr ogressively, if desired. In thisconnection 1t-should be noted that although a higher temperature isdesirable in the successive chambers this temperature is automaticallysecured to a large extent if the chambers are uniformly heated, for inthe chamber A vaporization of the more volatile fatty acids takes placecomparatively rapidly, absorbing, in so doing, a

large. number of heat units as latent heat and thus cooling the contentsof the cham-' ber. In the chamber B vaporization takes place lessrapidly and therefore less heat units are absorbed as latent heat ofvaporization and the contents of the chamber are somewhat warmer.Similarly, the contents of the chamber 0 are warmer than those ofchamber B, and those of chamber D than the level of the liquid in eachof said come partments by restricted openings and aving a common vaporchamber, heating the still to the distillation temperature, 'Withdrawingthe distilled products from the common vapor chamber and withdrawing theresidue from the last compartment.

2. A continuous process for distilling mixtures containing fatty acids,comprising continuously feeding the mixture into a still provided withcompartments communieating progressively by restricted openings belowthe level of the mixture in each of said compartments and having acommon vapor chamber, heating the still to the distillation temperature,withdrawing the distilled fatty acids from the common vapor chamber andwithdrawing the residue from the last compartment.

3. Apparatus for the continuous distillation of liquids. comprising astill havingv compartments therein communicating sef'i ally byrestricted openings near the bottom of each compartment, a common vapor"chamber above said compartments, means for feeding the liquid into thefirst .eompartment of the series, means for withdrawing the residue fromthe last compartment, and means for Withdrawing the distilled productsfrom the common vapor chamber.

FREEMAN I. (HBSON.

